Does the Obama center belong in Jackson Park? Readers discuss.

To the editor: Per “The Obama center and Chicago’s next mayor,” the editorial charitably calls the recently halted tree-felling for Obama center-related construction an “unforced error” on the part of the city. Actually, there’s a bigger “unforced error” that will no doubt continue to plague the construction of the Obama Presidential Center: the decision to confiscate public parkland, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, to build it.

As has been well-documented, there is ample available vacant and city-owned land, including an 11-acre parcel adjacent to Washington Park and mass transit that would better suit that purpose. Those options would present much less of a regulatory challenge, especially at the federal level, which has already led to considerable preconstruction delays.

We agree with the editorial that “the center is far from a slam-dunk.” One wonders, then, why the Obama Foundation would choose such a fraught path. Perhaps now is the time for the University of Chicago, which has extensive (and growing) land holdings proximate to Jackson Park, to make public its successful bid to host the center. Why is the Obama Foundation so willing to go to bat for the University of Chicago? And what happened to the president who once proudly declared, “Conservation has been a cornerstone of my presidency”?

Olmsted was right

To the editor: Not many people know that, more than a century ago, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and partner-in-design Calvert Vaux planned Chicago's great South Side parks as sites where people of all races, religions, and backgrounds can come together to celebrate the spirit of democracy in a rapidly growing city.

It might surprise some people to learn that Olmsted designed a great pavilion, to be located in the site of of the present swimming pool behind the refectory in Washington Park. There were to be parades, exhibitions, a grandstand for watching fireworks displays, and noise and disruption that, if it happened today, would offend those who consider parks solely as places of quiet reflection. Would people have objected to the construction of a handsome building honoring the legacy of a great man? A place where people of all ages and backgrounds could enjoy a great park while learning about history, government and the natural history of a spectacularly beautiful area?

Jackson Park will continue to be enhanced by sensitivity to the latest advances in ecological understanding. The latest in athletic facilities would bring pleasure to sports-inclined individuals of all ages, interests and physical capabilities. The benefits are immeasurable. Just knowing that this place exists on the South Side of Chicago will elevate the spirits of individuals who have experienced disadvantages in their lives.

Olmsted had it right more than a century ago. Parks are places where nature and mankind can celebrate life.

— Frances S. Vandervoort, Chicago

Critically needed

To the editor: Thank you to Lolly Bowean for carefully explaining to the Tribune’s readers the generous gift being given to to the South Side, and most important of all, to our children, in her Sept. 19 article “Obama Foundation responds to lawsuit over use of park.”

The Obama center follows the same public plan as the Field Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, the Art Institute, the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the DuSable Museum to name just a few of the valuable public museum resources located in our public parks that enrich our lives and are our legacy for our children. Many of the items from The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Jackson Park are displayed in these urban park museums. These are safe, public-park locations where our children can visit, be educated and be inspired. These museums bring visitors and tourist dollars to our economy. These museums bring honor and prestige to our city's reputation.

Additionally, the Obama center brings critically needed high school-level recreation and competitive sports fields where our urban youth athletes can play and compete for hard-to-get college scholarships. We are grateful for the factual, inclusive and non-sensationalized reporting that Bowean brought to this important Obama center article.